Wednesday, 19 December 2007

I love Sunday roast dinners. It is a tradition that I have come to embrace wholeheartedly. I love the significance of it being a family meal where everyone could sit down together and have a good slow lunch while catching up on the week's happenings. When we have Sunday lunch at the in-laws, that's often a case of catching up on the past few months. A roast dinner also invariably means plenty of leftovers for lunches and dinners the next few days.

The Sunday roast is a traditional British and Irish main meal served on Sundays (usually around noon) and consisting of roasted meat together with potatoes and vegetables as accompaniments. Each meat has its own special sauce to go with it too:

We had roast gammon on Sunday, which I cooked with a honey and mustard glaze. I forgot to take a photo of the joint as it came out of the oven, but here's how it looked (from BBC Good Food Magazine), more or less... except smaller since it was just for the two of us!

Directions: 1. Put the gammon joint into a large bowl or pan, cover with cold water and leave to soak for 12-24 hours. Change the water at least once so it doesn't sit in salty water. Drain and pat dry. 2. Set the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Sit the gammon joint in the middle of a roasting tray lined with a large sheet of foil. Bring the foil up around the gammon and seal the edges, forming a loose wrapping around the gammon. Roast for 50 minutes. 3. Remove the gammon from the oven and open up that foil. Drain off all the juices and reserve them for gravy. Cut and peel away the skin (if any; taking care as it is hot). With the tip of a sharp knife, score the fat with parallel lines first in one direction and then at an angle to it, to cover the joint in a pattern of diamonds. Mix the mustard and honey together and smear thickly all over the layer of fat. Push a clove into the centre of each diamond.4. Return the joint to the oven for a final 20-25 minutes or until richly browned and glazed. If you are serving the joint hot, let it rest in a warm place for 20-30 minutes before carving. For cold gammon, leave it to cool in its own time. Serve with apple sauce and the usual accompanients.

Note: Gammon as you buy it, is too salty to eat. Time permitting, soak the gammon in cold water for 24 hours. If you haven't got the time or have forgotten, the second best option is to put the joint into a large saucepan, cover with water and bring up to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then take out the gammon joint and throw the salty water away.